Yes, I just quoted Wayne's World in my blog title. Not exactly eloquent, but I'll blame it on the fact that my brain (and liver) were witness to one pretty great little shindig last weekend:
So for a few months now, my sister-in-law Ali and I have been planning a surprise party for our twin husbands' fortieth birthday milestone. It all started with a plan to pull off the impossible: two girls who are not-so-good at lying trying to surprise two boys who are very good at noticing everything.
The plan was to send them out for a round of golf while we gathered friends and family back at the clubhouse for a post-round celebration. We secretly emailed invitations to guests:
and then coordinated food, decorations and favors in secret meetings while they were at work. I didn't get too many photos pre-party (there was too much anxiety and stress to shoot photos!), so most of these are after the fact, but you get the idea!
Each table was decorated with party and aging-theme quotes (cut with my trusty Silhouette!)
The centerpieces were tin buckets of golf balls, with polka dot ballons tied to the handle. We also scattered imprinted golf tees around:
And for entertainment, I created faux-polaroids of the boys spanning the past 40 years, and spread them around on all the tables. They provided plenty of fodder for jokes about Flock of Seagulls haircuts the whole evening!
And after Ali recently discovered the most delicious cupcake bakery, we had to include a delectable cupcake tower:
So at 1:00 on Saturday afternoon, we sent this crew out to the links:
The twins' older brother, Ben and college friend, Jess were in on the surprise and had strict instructions to keep them on the course until 5:30. They sent us text updates throughout the afternoon and it soon became apparent that the round of golf was going to finish faster than we expected.
Like 45 minutes before the guests were even due to arrive - ack!
So Ali and I took matters into our own hands, highjacking a golf cart (me driving while Ali tried to keep an entire tray of tequila shots from spilling while we drove) and meeting the guys at the 17th hole in hopes of stalling them for as long as possible.
Ultimately, our plan worked. We parked our carts just as the last guests gathered and enthusiastically welcomed the boys to the party:
The lack of reaction can only be attributed to shock, right?!
Much revelry, laughter, story-telling and of course, drinking ensued. We had rented a photobooth to capture some of the festivities and looking through the photos later was proof of the good time that was had:
A definite highlight of the evening was the slide show that Ali put together, highlighting some of the amazing moments from the last 40 years. There weren't many dry eyes left in the house after this tape rolled:
Yeah, it took lots of sneaky planning, much anxiety, a few little white lies, and the inevitable tequila shot to give these two an unforgettable birthday evening, but we managed to get it done. And it was small gesture compared to the unforgettable moments they've given us.
Partytime excellent, indeed.
